Marketing trends can change at a surprisingly quick pace, and if you’re working to reach prospective students who recognize the good from the bad–you’ve got to keep up.

To create the most effective marketing campaigns, your marketing team must consider factors like your university mission statement, target audience, and leading web and social channels. A solid strategy combines these elements into one cohesive plan to deliver timely messages to the right people. 

In this post, we’ll spotlight the top higher education digital marketing strategies you should know about. These digital marketing trends are relevant as you improve student engagement, strategize student recruitment, and consider the culture and progress of campus life.

Top 10 higher education marketing strategies

In higher education, marketing trends can direct your steps in a number of ways. From nurturing relationships with current students, to hosting events, to combatting declining enrollment, you can use modern tools to your advantage.

Not sure where to start? We’ve done the heavy lifting for you. In the list that follows, you’ll discover which emerging higher ed marketing tips are most popular this year. Then, you can start to envision how to use these digital marketing techniques at your own college or university.

1. Authentic university branding 

Higher education faces many unique challenges in the months to come—including post-pandemic enrollment battles and unpredictable economic factors. Students are looking for clear and honest reasons to apply and stay at particular higher education institutions, which means that a school’s brand messaging must be genuine.

In particular, Gen Z students are are savvy consumers. They may be more likely to abandon enrollment efforts if they detect that a school’s brand isn’t absolutely authentic to their own core values. This particular cohort has even more access to social sharing, digital information, and brand research than they did years ago. 

Education marketers should focus on honest brand messaging that promotes realistic outcomes to new students. Similarly, colleges and universities should aim to promote any social or cultural initiatives that help strengthen a school’s brand and reputation.

2. “Short form” content creation platforms

Modern students are experts at receiving digital content in quick bursts. That’s why "short-form" platforms, such as TikTok, are steadily increasing in popularity. “Short form” generally refers to videos that are shorter than two minutes in length, a highly appealing way to present new content.

Across the board, marketers expect the popularity of short form video to increase. That’s why a growing number of marketers want to expand use of it. With so much video content in circulation, it’s more important than ever that colleges and universities jump on board.

To maximize the result of short form initiatives, consider the areas where your marketing results are under-performing. If a major focus involves the number of new applications, think of how you can use short form platforms (a proven winner) to generate the improvements and results you want to see in another significant area.

3. Interactive and conversational marketing lingo

In college marketing, it’s crucial to have a strong understanding of the students you’re speaking to. Gen Z is the first generation of students to be considered full digital natives, and students in this cohort have had a unique way of communicating and speaking to one another. 

Learn how Gen Z students communicate–both with each other and with the brands that they follow and trust. Not only does this inform your ideas of what they like, but it also helps construct conversational marketing messages that hit the mark.

One major perk of using conversational speech in your digital marketing in higher ed is that you can quickly establish trust and loyalty. These are important characteristics when convincing college students that your university is the right fit for a long-term commitment. 

4. Student-focused blogging

You might hear some marketers saying that blogging (as an aspect of content marketing) is a thing of the past, but we don’t think that’s a hard and fast rule.

What is true, however, is that blogging for the sake of publishing content (without a focus on creating student-centered content) is a big mistake.

It’s time to deliver student-centered content that helps future applicants feel at home. Not only are these blogs and content pieces more attractive (and clickable), but they also generate more return on investment when you’re tasked with goals like increasing enrollment.

Whether you incorporate guest blogs (inviting special authors to contribute to your online space) or spotlight current students individually, make your blog a place where the student experience is a key part.

5. Lookalike audiences

A lookalike audience is any segment of new prospects that mirrors the segment you’re currently targeting. It’s simply another way to test or change small aspects of your marketing campaign to see how effective they are in real-world scenarios. 

In the world of higher education, your admissions team might have important demographic data about the students who have gotten through most steps of the application process. The marketing team could then take this data and create new audiences to see if it’s possible to capture untapped interest in the school’s academic programs. 

Modern marketers can use lookalike audiences to build unique or improved ad campaigns. Lookalike ads can target entirely new audience segments, which ultimately expands your reach. Depending on your department’s KPIs, this could be a turning point in how many new prospects you’re able to reach. 

5. Emphasis on personalization

One of the most important words you’ll hear in student marketing is personalization. This is the process of making your big-picture marketing messages applicable to students on a very one-on-one, individual level.

Remember—while you might believe in the larger mission of your college or university, lofty facts rarely matter to students who are trying to picture themselves at a new school. Personalization involves a level of clarity, both in your email marketing messages and in the lives of real students as they make major academic decisions. 

From a data or marketing perspective, personalization means knowing things like:

• Which pages a student has visited on the site
• The social media posts that have captured attention enough for a student to click
• Notable actions that a student has taken toward applying
• Personnel that a student has already engaged with at the school

Modern students value not having to repeat steps that have already been completed. Using tools that provide personalization make this scenario less likely, and thus improves the student’s perception of the college or university.

6. Lookalike audiences

A lookalike audience is any segment of new prospects that mirrors the segment you’re currently targeting. It’s simply another way to test or change small aspects of your marketing campaign to see how effective they are in real-world scenarios. 

In the world of higher education, your admissions team might have important demographic data about the students who have gotten through most steps of the application process. The marketing team could then take this data and create new audiences to see if it’s possible to capture untapped interest in the school’s academic programs. 

Modern marketers can use lookalike audiences to build unique or improved ad campaigns. Lookalike ads can target entirely new audience segments, which ultimately expands your reach. Depending on your department’s KPIs, this could be a turning point in how many new prospects you’re able to reach. 

7. Short form video (embedded on website)

We’ve already looked at the benefits and popularity of short form social media platforms like TikTok. Next, we’ll focus on how you can incorporate the same beneficial short-form video presentations onto your school’s website. 

Alongside your digital or website team, brainstorm how you can display short videos (under 90 seconds) onto your homepage or other high-converting pages. Creative ideas can include:

• Short student interviews
• Insight from academic leaders or professors
• Campus and facilities tours
• Sports and social highlights

What’s the benefit of using video segments in this way? These elements make your site more interactive, visually appealing, and convincing. 

8. Higher education podcasts

Podcasts are another growing brand trend that colleges and universities can incorporate. There are now over 3 million podcasts in over 100 different languages, and listenership numbers are continually up.

Producing and releasing a podcast has a low barrier to entry, allowing anyone to get started. Costs can be minimal, and most of the production work can be performed in-house. 

If you’re interested in capturing a new segment of the market through podcasting, make sure you’re using a personalized, student-centric approach. It’s a good idea to poll students or college data about which topics are most relevant or helpful. This will allow you to produce highly focused, practical shows and episodes that drive your marketing forward.

9. Campus or student ambassadors

Campus ambassadors are appointed students who represent the main values of your school or campus culture. Ambassadors can be empowered to recruit new students, lead events, or drive PR initiatives for your school.

Because this tactic provides a “human” touch to your messaging, campus ambassadors are an effective way to reach new students and build avenues for trust. 

Many larger schools (or those with the right marketing budget) can even recruit third-party ambassadors to represent the school to the broader public. This might involve former graduates who hold significant titles or who have platforms in key industries. Make sure that any appointed representative wholly represents the values of your campus.

10. Voice search optimization and mobility

Many marketing teams are already taking advantage of search engine optimization (SEO), but did you know that voice search optimization is one of the latest trends?

Voice search refers to smart voice technology (like phones and speakers) that receive audible messages to perform online searches. For example, a prospect might ask, “What university has the best engineering program in my state?” Voice search will pick up and recall a result based on a rapid internet search.

To improve voice search optimization and rankings, you should make sure that your entire website is mobile-compatible and optimized for different types of devices. Then, use highly searchable pages (like FAQs) to break the content down into conversational topics and responses. This work behind the scenes can help voice tools detect and share your website more frequently.  

Can a CRM improve your marketing strategy?

Choosing the right software or platform is one way to take your college or university marketing to the next level. Not only does the right platform allow you to personalize the student journey, but you can put people at the very center of your marketing initiatives.

At Element451, we specialize in this very strategy. Whether you need prospect nurturing, automatic messaging, or personalized follow-up to improve conversion rates, we’ve got the secret sauce to get your campus growing. 

Not only can you take advantage of the latest trends in higher education marketing, but you’ll do so with the latest CRM features and tools right at your fingertips. It’s a winning combination for both you and your students. 

Stay aligned with today’s marketing trends

Alignment means delivering the right messages, to the right people, at the right time. If you’re focused on growing your college marketing efforts this year, don’t miss the trends that matter the most to prospective students and families.

Learn how the right CRM platform can help you capitalize on the latest higher education marketing best practices.

Book your Element451 demo.